First (and almost) last flight of my MP!

[Jenee]

Holy cow!! Thanks for the systematic analysis and recommendation. I will set the RTH even higher than before. I thought I had set it up to be higher than the tallest tree on that hill, but obviously that was not enough to prevent interference. However, you are saying that that was possibly because of solar flares and not the tower?! Amazing! Thanks again.

If you have a look at your Airdata particularly Notifications and Sensors, you will see that you had a very large number of sensor errors and even lost connection a couple of times. The high wind was probably also a factor in it flying away. Consider yourself very lucky you got it back as the battery was also running down.

 

[ajoy]

Consider yourself very lucky you got it back as the battery was also running down.

Thanks for the analysis. I do get the "what" happened part. The question I have for you all experts, is "why"? Why did it say there was a disconnect and why of all things it said that the drone was about to fly into a NFZ! So strange. This was one of my first flights so I certainly have no experience. I wonder if you guys see issues like this often?

Is

solar activity

the answer? If so, that was one heck of bad luck followed by incredibly good luck that I got the bird back!

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Thanks for the analysis. I do get the "what" happened part. The question I have for you all experts, is "why"? Why did it say there was a disconnect and why of all things it said that the drone was about to fly into a NFZ! So strange. This was one of my first flights so I certainly have no experience. I wonder if you guys see issues like this often?

Is the answer? If so, that was one heck of bad luck followed by incredibly good luck that I got the bird back!

Possibly. IMO your disconnect had nothing at all to do with the local antenna you posted about initially (And I can't even find that on Google Earth in the vicinity of your flight).

DJI's GPS on the later birds is way over sensitive for a system that is in the air and doesn't need such sensitivity. GPS signals are very weak things ("in the noise") and thus are easy to jam. Extra-sensitive receivers are necessary in things like cell phones but not in UAV's that usually have very good sky views. So in the presence of jamming or interference, the GPS could get affected. Magnetic fields should not affect GPS unless very, very strong - I suspect their message is not correctly said for whatever is causing the disruption. Indeed, despite all the claimed "magnetic" disruption, the magnetic heading in the record did not twitch...

(I won't go into my Mk I diatribe about DJI's poor navigation integration).

 

[crazybill]

Re: flying near cell towers. I live in a very rural and hilly area. One spot I like to fly at has a cell tower nearby. When ever I start up and take off I immediately get the "strong interference" warning. Nothing strange has happened but whenever I fly in this area I keep the MP nearby.
I know that in theory the frequency hopping nature of our radio systems is supposed to negate or minimize interference but strong RF can blanket a receiver and cause problems.
This local tower also has all sorts of comm antennas not part of the cellular system. Who knows what frequencies and powers they operate at?
My point is that when operating near any comm tower it pays to be careful. Each one is different. You might be just fine near one and have all sorts of grief near another.
-Bill-

 

[ajoy]

So in the presence of jamming or interference, the GPS could get affected

Thanks again! So I guess I should chalk it up for bad luck followed by good luck, and hope that I don't get this weird phenomenon repeating itself.

when operating near any comm tower it pays to be careful

Good point. Next time if I see one, I will wrap up and head back, or pull out my tripod and shoot my regular landscapes!

 

[Jenee]

Thanks for the analysis. I do get the "what" happened part. The question I have for you all experts, is "why"? Why did it say there was a disconnect and why of all things it said that the drone was about to fly into a NFZ! So strange. This was one of my first flights so I certainly have no experience. I wonder if you guys see issues like this often?

Is the answer? If so, that was one heck of bad luck followed by incredibly good luck that I got the bird back!

I think the disconnects were the result of those very high sensor errors. I used to use my android phone and even though I was flying on a farm away from houses etc. there were times when I had a high number of sensor errors and also experienced problems with the app crashing. I also saw messages indicating strong interference and to fly with caution. The only thing I could find out from the owners of the farm was that they used wireless transmissions to run pumps in their dams and other equipment. I ended up changing to an IPad mini 4 with very few apps but it does have a SIM card so I have internet access wherever I am. Since then I have never had even one sensor error and no app crashes. In my case it would seem that all the activity that was happening on the android phone was a problem. The only answer I can come up with it that you always need to fly with caution and expect that something can fail. These drones have a myriad of things that can go wrong and nothing is foolproof.

 

[ajoy]

it would seem that all the activity that was happening on the android phone was a problem

I think you found the real reason for the abrupt disconnects and other errors. I bet my phone (like most everyone else's) was trying to do 1000 things at the same time (despite being in airplane mode). I am looking into an iPad mini 2 . I'm not a big fan of iOS but that exactly will prevent me from dumping apps on it and keep it dedicated for the Mavic ...and perhaps videos for my kid to watch.

Thanks for the insight!! I hope this is read by others that have had similar issues.